A few weeks ago, Weird Al released his latest album, Mandatory Fun, which reached number one on the Billboard charts, becoming the first of his albums to do this in a career that has spanned multiple decades.

One of the songs on the album, appropriately titled Mission Statement, is a Hall & Oates-y lampoon of modern corporate business jargon. Yankovic also released a music video that parodies the time-lapse whiteboard videos that are used to create popular animated versions of conference talks, such as this one by Dan Pink.

Did you cringe a little listening to that? Personally, I didn’t know whether to laugh or to scream.

Here’s a partial list of some of the common business terms mentioned in the video:

The song is funny because it’s so painfully familiar. Most of us have heard things like this over and over again in countless “weekly standing meetings,” often recognizing the ridiculousness but unsure what to do about it.

But if this kind of language is so laughable, why do so many companies continue to use it?

I think it’s because these phrases are utterly meaningless.

They don’t mean anything, and so they become empty vessels that can be filled with whatever meaning each reader wants them to have. We can get everyone involved to sign off on them because they’re signing off on their own understanding of what those words mean, whether or not we’re actually achieving alignment in our understanding.

We use these words so we can pretend to have unity.

This may enable us to check the mission statement box and move on. But just because we succeed in getting some words approved and hung on the wall, doesn’t mean we’ve solved the problems that mission statements are designed to eliminate.

Good communication is designed to get the participants on both sides to listen to and understand each other. Using meaningless jargon only widens the gaps in our understanding. It prevents us from communicating effectively.

I believe that language like this is something that needs to go away. And the first step to getting rid of it is to recognize when it’s happening and call its bluff.

You may not be able to get others in your organization to stop using language like this. But you can strive for clarity in your own statements. And don’t be afraid to ask people what they mean when they say things. If they can state their ideas in clearer, simpler language, why not suggest just stating it that way all the time?

]]>http://advanceyourslides.com/2014/08/11/weird-als-latest-video-highlights-everything-thats-wrong-with-modern-business-communication/feed/0http://advanceyourslides.com/2014/08/11/weird-als-latest-video-highlights-everything-thats-wrong-with-modern-business-communication/Ditch the Defaultshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AdvanceYourSlides/~3/QCqX9B386GY/
http://advanceyourslides.com/2014/07/01/ditch-the-defaults/#commentsWed, 02 Jul 2014 01:48:31 +0000http://advanceyourslides.com/?p=3945It’s easy to believe that the default layouts, color palettes, and clipart in your slideware of choice will result in well-designed slide masterpieces. Unfortunately, the ubiquity of PowerPoint is also its downfall. We all see those same title-bullets-and-clipart layouts and stick figure graphics every time we open PowerPoint or sit down in a weekly meeting. Using them won’t give your audience the wow-factor you’re after. Instead, try to be original.

Here are five tools I use to find unique design inspiration and resources.

1. Pinterest

This is my first stop for design inspiration. I love Pinterest’s search functionality. You can search for obvious terms like “powerpoint” or “keynote” and similar things. I usually find search terms like “magazine layout design” or “beautiful color palettes” to be most helpful. Good design is all over the place, and I find the best inspiration comes from totally unexpected places. And as I go, I always find and pin things that won’t work for the current project but might be useful someday.

2. Kuler and ColourLovers

Can you keep a secret? Selecting colors that go well together is my kryptonite. I’m a professional designer by day, but this is an area I really struggle with. I can tell when a set of colors works well together, but coming up with that arrangement from scratch? Forget it. Fortunately for me there are tons of people out there who are better than I am and are also generous. Kuler and ColourLovers are two of the best color palette sharing sites around. They make it really easy to browse around for something you like. Or, if you already have an image with colors you think look good (like one you found on Pinterest, maybe?) you can upload it to Kuler and it’ll pull colors out for you. Try it! (P.S. Kuler also has an amazing smartphone app that will pull color palettes out of any image on your phone and even does this live with whatever you point it at. It’s magic. Isn’t technology wonderful?)

3. Design Blogs

You use RSS, right? If not, you need to start. Design blogs make it really easy to look at tons of fresh, beautiful, inspiring stuff in a short period of time. I try to make that kind of creative sustenance part of my daily routine. There are bajillions of good design blogs out there, but here are a few to get you started: Swiss-Miss, Kimmy Design Blog, My Modern Met, and Designspiration.

4. Instagram

Similar to Pinterest, Instagram can be a great way to get a quick design fix. Lots of great creatives have accounts on which they post pictures of their latest creations. What I love most, though, is when they share pictures of their process. Things like sketches and early drafts of their work. It reminds me that they’re going through the same process I am and that it’s okay that your creations don’t start out perfectly formed. Their’s don’t either.

5. DIY

Okay, this is my favorite option for unique content, but it can also be the most time consuming and challenging. But if you’re feeling adventurous, why not try your hand at creating your own stuff? Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty and actually make things.You don’t have to be a professional artist, or illustrator, or photographer. Sometimes the hand-made feel of photographs you took yourself or sketches you scanned from your personal notebook can lend a little extra personality that wouldn’t be possible any other way. It’s cheaper, too!

]]>http://advanceyourslides.com/2014/07/01/ditch-the-defaults/feed/3http://advanceyourslides.com/2014/07/01/ditch-the-defaults/Weekend Updatehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AdvanceYourSlides/~3/3JboCIlwRtA/
http://advanceyourslides.com/2014/06/15/weekend-update/#commentsMon, 16 Jun 2014 01:54:31 +0000http://advanceyourslides.com/?p=3829I’m afraid I have to apologize for the lack of video again this week. June is my busiest month because of the users conference the company I work for puts on every year and I’m still getting back to normal following that.

Part of the reason I’m behind, though, is because I’m preparing to add a store section to the AYS site. This is the first time I’ve mentioned it but it’s been in the works for quite a while now. My next video will be in conjunction with the release of my first digital product. Setting up a digital store isn’t that hard these days, but getting it going has taken longer than I expected. Stay tuned to see what I’ve been working on. I hope you’ll think it was worth the wait.

The video will go up as soon as things are ready. In the meantime here are some links to some things I’ve been meaning to share with you but haven’t gotten around to yet:

Have you heard of the Up documentary series? In 1964, a producer interviewed seven seven-year-olds in the UK and has checked in with them every seven years since. The latest edition came out last year, and they’re all 56 now. I haven’t seen it yet but it sounds fascinating.

“Sales is not a matter of you getting through your presentation. Sales is a matter of you making a connection.”

Chris Hogan of Dave Ramsey’s Entreleadership team reminds us to keep things in perspective. As much as we love presentations, they’re not the end game.

]]>http://advanceyourslides.com/2014/06/11/the-secret-to-more-sales-stop-talking/feed/0http://advanceyourslides.com/2014/06/11/the-secret-to-more-sales-stop-talking/Bill Watterson Returns!http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AdvanceYourSlides/~3/RTiGHZ7iV98/
http://advanceyourslides.com/2014/06/11/bill-watterson-returns/#commentsThu, 12 Jun 2014 02:19:22 +0000http://advanceyourslides.com/?p=3819You may have already seen it but Bill Watterson returned to the comics page this week for a brief collaboration with ‘Pearls Before Swine’ artist Stephan Pastis.

I’ve written before about what a master Mr. Watterson is when it comes to layouts, so it’s exciting to see him return to the comics page in such an unexpected way. Mr. Watterson was also the subject of a documentary film last year. He’s usually fairly reclusive, but I hope perhaps this means we can hope to hear (and see) more from him.

]]>http://advanceyourslides.com/2014/06/11/bill-watterson-returns/feed/0http://advanceyourslides.com/2014/06/11/bill-watterson-returns/Apple Keynotes Podcasthttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AdvanceYourSlides/~3/IizqJi7YDFk/
http://advanceyourslides.com/2014/06/11/apple-keynotes-podcast/#commentsThu, 12 Jun 2014 02:05:16 +0000http://advanceyourslides.com/?p=3815Last week I missed the live stream of Apple’s WWDC Keynote. When I went looking for the recording I discovered that Apple has a Keynote podcast! There’s an HD version and an SD version. The HD version goes back to 2011, but the SD version has goes all the way back to Steve Jobs’ introduction of the iPhone back in 2007.

As a fan and student of Steve’s presentation style I’ve gone looking for good recordings like this of past Apple Keynotes. You can find them, but never have I seen a bunch all in one place like this. I plan to download them all to save for future reference. What a wealth of presentation excellence to study!

]]>http://advanceyourslides.com/2014/06/11/apple-keynotes-podcast/feed/0http://advanceyourslides.com/2014/06/11/apple-keynotes-podcast/New AYS TV Video in 2 Weekshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AdvanceYourSlides/~3/RqvN-p0HrCA/
http://advanceyourslides.com/2014/06/02/new-ays-tv-video-in-2-weeks/#commentsMon, 02 Jun 2014 05:26:37 +0000http://advanceyourslides.com/?p=3809AYS TV will be back on June 16th for the final two weeks of the first season. Stay tuned though. We’ve saved some of our best stuff for last.

In the meantime, we’d love your feedback about AYS TV. Good or bad, thoughts for future videos, comments, suggestions, questions. Ways we could make it better or more useful. Could the videos be shorter? Longer? More Keynote tips? Anything. Let us know what you think in the comments.

See you in two weeks!

]]>http://advanceyourslides.com/2014/06/02/new-ays-tv-video-in-2-weeks/feed/0http://advanceyourslides.com/2014/06/02/new-ays-tv-video-in-2-weeks/What Happened to My Photos?http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AdvanceYourSlides/~3/QWhuXYvXGcY/
http://advanceyourslides.com/2014/05/26/what-happened-to-my-photos/#commentsMon, 26 May 2014 05:01:26 +0000http://advanceyourslides.com/?p=3803Have you ever been confused by what PowerPoint did with your inserted images? Are they blurry, or lower resolution than the files you imported? Does PowerPoint just down-convert everything on import or what?

PowerPoint is funny about the way it handles lots of things, and photo handling and compression is no different.

In this episode I’ll share some tips for getting PowerPoint to behave the way you want it to when it comes to dealing with photos so you can keep your imagery looking as sharp as possible.

Chances are if you’ve built or redesigned many presentations at all you’ve dealt with your fair share of logo-filled slides. Often these are just hideous, though. Logos are thrown on in seemingly random order, with inconsistent sizes and spacing, some transparent backgrounds, some white, and a rainbow of corporate colors.

Though I’m not fond of them, the truth is that logo slides are here to stay in many cases. So in those situations when you’re forced to keep them in, you at least want to make them look good.

In this episode of AYS TV, I’ll show you several strategies for making your logo slides look as good as humanly possible.

]]>http://advanceyourslides.com/2014/05/19/better-logo-slides/feed/0http://advanceyourslides.com/2014/05/19/better-logo-slides/Tempus Fugithttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AdvanceYourSlides/~3/h1OixyIMfQ0/
http://advanceyourslides.com/2014/05/12/tempus-fugit/#commentsMon, 12 May 2014 05:01:28 +0000http://advanceyourslides.com/?p=3791On this week’s episode of Advance Your Slides TV I’m showing you how to create a clock animation in PowerPoint. It’s useful for showing the passing of time, plus it gives us a chance to practice and expand on a couple techniques I’ve shown in past episodes including the shape combine commands as well as rotating around a non-central point.

There are only four episodes left in this first season of AYS TV, so if you have recommendations for a future video, leave me a note as soon as possible.